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War over Lemuria: Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer and the Strangest Chapter of 1940s Science Fiction
Life magazine described the Shaver Mystery as "the most celebrated rumpus that rocked the science fiction world." Its creators called it the "new wave in science fiction." Critics called it "dangerous nonsense" and labeled its fans the lunatic fringe. Whatever else the Shaver Mystery was, it became a worldwide sensation between 1945 and 1948, one of the greatest controversies to hit the science fiction genre. Today these stories of the remnants of a sinister ancient civilization living in caverns under the Earth are an all but forgotten sidebar to the historical record. It all began as a series of science fiction yarns in Amazing Stories nearly 70 years ago. The men behind it, Ray Palmer and Richard Shaver, were derided and seldom understood by a fandom that did its best to sweep them into the dustbin of history. Though Ray Palmer was one of the earliest and biggest names in SF fandom, credited with many firsts in his field, his fannish brethren have roundly ignored him, thanks to the Shaver Mystery. What is the truth behind these men and their "mystery"? This is a question the writers and editors that once promoted the Mystery answer as they reveal the behind-the-scenes true story of the phenomenon known as "Shaverism."
265 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Richard Toronto
15 books9 followersRichard Toronto is the author of War Over Lemuria: Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer and the Strangest Chapter of 1940s Science Fiction, a comprehensive behind-the-scenes account of two of the most controversial figures in 20th Century Science Fiction: Ray Palmer and Richard Shaver. Toronto corresponded with Richard Shaver and in 1975 attempted to co-author a book on Shaver's life. A sequel to War, Shaverology: a Shaver Mystery Home Companion is due out in September 2013. Toronto is a California native and a former newspaper reporter with a BA in Journalism from California State University Sacramento. He has been the editor of Shavertron, the only surviving all-Shaver Mystery fanzine, since 1979. It is now online at www.shavertron.com
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 6, 2013
War Over Lemuria concerns The Shaver Mystery, largely forgotten today. It was big news in the late 1940′s. In 1943, Ray Palmer, the editor of Amazing Stories received a cryptic letter from a Pennsylvania defense plant worker named Richard Shaver who claimed to have knowledge of the true history of earth. When one of his assistant editors tossed the letter into the trash, Palmer fished it out and, to the wonder of his office staff, announced he was going to print it in the next issue.
The appearance of the letter is a milestone in the history of magazine publishing. When “I remember Lemuria”, Palmer’s rewriting of the original letter Shaver had sent him, was published, the sales of Amazing Stories went stratospheric. Readers began sending in their own confirmations of Richard Shavers claims. All over the country, people began writing of their encounters with Deros and evil rays. Palmer had struck publishing gold with the Shaver letter and was determined to capitalize on it. For the next three years, Astounding Stories became the center of a brand new spirituality.
But the Shaver Mystery cult had its detractors.Organized science fiction fandom was outraged by their favorite editor trying to start his own religion, or so they believed. Palmer and Astounding Tales were denounced from the pulpit at SF conventions and a viscous letter writing campaign ensured. Palmer, who had came from the ranks of the SF faithful himself, ignored their taunts in his editorials and stayed fast to his new discovery. There were even Richard Shaver fan clubs organized.
It all came to a bitter end in 1948. After a visit by government men to the Astounding Tales publisher, Ziff-Davis, Palmer was told to knock it off. It was all good and fine to boost magazine sales, but Uncle Sam was taking a dim view of the latest incarnation: flying saucers. Valuable government time was being spent investigating them which could be better used in the Cold War. Palmer was forced to print an editorial outlining the policy of Astounding Tales as a fiction magazine. He would later resign his editorship and move into independent publishing. Shaver would fade from memory, although still remembered as a John the Baptist type, a lone voice crying in the wilderness.
Richard Toronto is unique in his background to wrtire about the adventure. For years, he edited Shavertron, a publication dedicated to all things Shaver Mystery. He first made contact with Richard Shaver in the early 70′s, when the man was in the final years of his life. At this point, Shaver was obeseesed with “Rock Books”, i.e., evidence left in stones by aleien visitors. He has drifited away from what the voices in his head were telling him to a new passion. Later, Shaver’s paintings based on what he saw in the rocks would become exemplary standards of Outsider Art.
War Over Lemuria is a labor of love. Toronto has done his research on the whole incident and it’s aftermath. He’s interviewed are the principal players who are still alive. He’s talked with family members and buisness associates. And he’s put it out on the scholarly McFarland press at $45.00 a pop. Well you can get it cheaper on kindle, which is what I did. I’m told the paper version is a little hard on the eyes, but this is why God invented e-publishing, so you can adjust the type size.
What emerges is a tale of of two amazing men from a differnt time and place. A world where livid pulp magazines was a poplular entertainment medium. A world where people could dream of flights to mars and beyond. The world outside in your Brooklyn or Chicago neighborhood might look like garbarge, but a new one beckoned. Even if you had a broken physic, such a Ray Palmer or heard voices, suck as Richard Shaver.
And it’s the life story and backgrounds of these two men which make the book so difficult to put down. You read about Ray Palmer who survived repeated injuries and yet became the editor of an influenal fiction magazine. Or Richard Shaver, who grew-up in poverty, was committed to an insane asylum by his in-laws, and became a guru to people who felt there had to be more to life than the boring realitiy they endured. Neither one of them died wealthy and famous. Palmer managed to raise in family in the farm lands and run a successful publishing buisness. Shaver gave-up farming and lived in a rural area most of his life, sawing rocks in half looking for more evidence of the Unseen World.
I think the best summary of both their lives can be found in this story Ray Palmer told after a fall which nearly paralyzed him:
[Ray Palmer to his friend William Hamling]:… “I was visited that night by a team of doctors. I don’t remember their names, but they analyzed my problem. I found out the identity of one of them.”
“What are you saying?”
“These were men who were no longer living. One of the doctors said to another doctor in the room, ‘I failed this man when he needed me most as a child, and I will not allow a failure today.’ They operated on me and that’s why I am alive now.
In some ways, the Shave Mystery would foreshadow both the UFO and unexplained phenomena pursuits of the 50′s and 60′s. Had Shaver been alive in the 1980′s, he’d have been on the New Age Trance Channeler circuit. It’s a shame both he and Palmer are so little remembered today.
The appearance of the letter is a milestone in the history of magazine publishing. When “I remember Lemuria”, Palmer’s rewriting of the original letter Shaver had sent him, was published, the sales of Amazing Stories went stratospheric. Readers began sending in their own confirmations of Richard Shavers claims. All over the country, people began writing of their encounters with Deros and evil rays. Palmer had struck publishing gold with the Shaver letter and was determined to capitalize on it. For the next three years, Astounding Stories became the center of a brand new spirituality.
But the Shaver Mystery cult had its detractors.Organized science fiction fandom was outraged by their favorite editor trying to start his own religion, or so they believed. Palmer and Astounding Tales were denounced from the pulpit at SF conventions and a viscous letter writing campaign ensured. Palmer, who had came from the ranks of the SF faithful himself, ignored their taunts in his editorials and stayed fast to his new discovery. There were even Richard Shaver fan clubs organized.
It all came to a bitter end in 1948. After a visit by government men to the Astounding Tales publisher, Ziff-Davis, Palmer was told to knock it off. It was all good and fine to boost magazine sales, but Uncle Sam was taking a dim view of the latest incarnation: flying saucers. Valuable government time was being spent investigating them which could be better used in the Cold War. Palmer was forced to print an editorial outlining the policy of Astounding Tales as a fiction magazine. He would later resign his editorship and move into independent publishing. Shaver would fade from memory, although still remembered as a John the Baptist type, a lone voice crying in the wilderness.
Richard Toronto is unique in his background to wrtire about the adventure. For years, he edited Shavertron, a publication dedicated to all things Shaver Mystery. He first made contact with Richard Shaver in the early 70′s, when the man was in the final years of his life. At this point, Shaver was obeseesed with “Rock Books”, i.e., evidence left in stones by aleien visitors. He has drifited away from what the voices in his head were telling him to a new passion. Later, Shaver’s paintings based on what he saw in the rocks would become exemplary standards of Outsider Art.
War Over Lemuria is a labor of love. Toronto has done his research on the whole incident and it’s aftermath. He’s interviewed are the principal players who are still alive. He’s talked with family members and buisness associates. And he’s put it out on the scholarly McFarland press at $45.00 a pop. Well you can get it cheaper on kindle, which is what I did. I’m told the paper version is a little hard on the eyes, but this is why God invented e-publishing, so you can adjust the type size.
What emerges is a tale of of two amazing men from a differnt time and place. A world where livid pulp magazines was a poplular entertainment medium. A world where people could dream of flights to mars and beyond. The world outside in your Brooklyn or Chicago neighborhood might look like garbarge, but a new one beckoned. Even if you had a broken physic, such a Ray Palmer or heard voices, suck as Richard Shaver.
And it’s the life story and backgrounds of these two men which make the book so difficult to put down. You read about Ray Palmer who survived repeated injuries and yet became the editor of an influenal fiction magazine. Or Richard Shaver, who grew-up in poverty, was committed to an insane asylum by his in-laws, and became a guru to people who felt there had to be more to life than the boring realitiy they endured. Neither one of them died wealthy and famous. Palmer managed to raise in family in the farm lands and run a successful publishing buisness. Shaver gave-up farming and lived in a rural area most of his life, sawing rocks in half looking for more evidence of the Unseen World.
I think the best summary of both their lives can be found in this story Ray Palmer told after a fall which nearly paralyzed him:
[Ray Palmer to his friend William Hamling]:… “I was visited that night by a team of doctors. I don’t remember their names, but they analyzed my problem. I found out the identity of one of them.”
“What are you saying?”
“These were men who were no longer living. One of the doctors said to another doctor in the room, ‘I failed this man when he needed me most as a child, and I will not allow a failure today.’ They operated on me and that’s why I am alive now.
In some ways, the Shave Mystery would foreshadow both the UFO and unexplained phenomena pursuits of the 50′s and 60′s. Had Shaver been alive in the 1980′s, he’d have been on the New Age Trance Channeler circuit. It’s a shame both he and Palmer are so little remembered today.
November 2, 2022
Toronto's involvement with Shavertron borders on "did he drink the kool-aid" questions but this treatment sidesteps his own belief/disbelief in Shaver Mystery arcana. Instead, it traces the people involved and gives them the treatment and attention. Not just the two principals, either, but the entire extended crew of pulp magazine workers and family.
In other reviews I characterized Shaver in terms of mental illness, and while that non-diagnosis may be correct it falls short of capturing his life, which Toronto does here in detail. Likewise, I had Ray Palmer pegged as a huckster and cynic, and the reality is far more complex. While Toronto grapples with the contradiction of a believer and mystic whose business acumen saw dollar signs, it's apparent that RAP himself was unable to express or analyze these things within himself. The take-away does show RAP as a man with things to prove and almost limitless confidence.
And it does show that while Shaver was set in his system (with perhaps some enhancements via the rokfogo obsession), Palmer was eager to move on to new territories of pseudoscience and mystery, only returning to the Shaver Mystery when finances compelled.
Ultimately the saddest part is the long denouement as all the individuals drifted apart and experienced limited material success in their endeavors, with a legacy understood by only a few.
In other reviews I characterized Shaver in terms of mental illness, and while that non-diagnosis may be correct it falls short of capturing his life, which Toronto does here in detail. Likewise, I had Ray Palmer pegged as a huckster and cynic, and the reality is far more complex. While Toronto grapples with the contradiction of a believer and mystic whose business acumen saw dollar signs, it's apparent that RAP himself was unable to express or analyze these things within himself. The take-away does show RAP as a man with things to prove and almost limitless confidence.
And it does show that while Shaver was set in his system (with perhaps some enhancements via the rokfogo obsession), Palmer was eager to move on to new territories of pseudoscience and mystery, only returning to the Shaver Mystery when finances compelled.
Ultimately the saddest part is the long denouement as all the individuals drifted apart and experienced limited material success in their endeavors, with a legacy understood by only a few.
July 31, 2026
What a fascinating story of pulp sci-fi in the 1940s and 1950s and the people behind it! Also, the Shaver Mystery is a fascinating idea that connects to lots of contemporary conspiracy theories as well as Flying Saucers and UFOs/UAPs. My interest in the book stemmed from a video by Jeff Shanks connecting the Shaver Mystery with the UFO/UAP phenomenon, plus there is a local connection: Ray Palmer lived the last 30 years of his life in Amherst, WI about 20 minutes from where I live.
Ray Palmer (Rap) and Richard Shaver seemed to have similar backgrounds filled with significant obstacles and stressors. Both were self-made men, although Shaver achieved less financial success. Shaver seemed to be something of a bohemian, an outsider artist in both writing and art. I’ve only just started reading some of Shaver’s “stories” (in quotes because they were presented as non-fiction in *Amazing Stories*). But from what I’ve read, there is a very unpolished quality to the writing (and this is after major revisions from Rap—many believe Rap should be considered a co-author on most Shaver Mystery stories). I know there is a lot of debate on how the Shaver Mystery should be viewed. For some, Shaver should just be put in the kook category. But his ideas were highly imaginative even if there is a psychological disorder element to them. I do find it ironic that the Shaver Mystery and the UFO/UAP phenomenon, more generally, get such disdain when many, if not most people these days believe in some conspiracy theories (much of it politically oriented, and as psychological research has indicated, present on both the left and the right political orientations). I find the Shaver Mystery and UFO/UAPs much more interesting than any of the political cults that froth at the mouth these days.
I found the divide in sci-fi between the high-brow (represented by Campbell and *Astounding*) and Everyman (represented by Rap and *Amazing Stories*) fascinating. That divide seems to be present in other genres (like Sword and Sorcery). I’m very much in the Everyman, rollicking fun stories that seek to entertain, camp regardless of the genre.
I know that Shaver gets taken advantage of near the end of his life with Palmer publishing *The Secret World* with mostly Shaver’s writing inside, but leaving Shaver’s name off the cover. But at the same time, it seems that Shaver would have never been published if it hadn’t been for Palmer. There seems to be a general consensus that Shaver’s writing was pretty rough. But what is ironic is that Shaver is probably better known today than many of the other sci-fi writers from the era, and his “rock book” art has been displayed in galleries featuring outsider artists.
Here is a synopsis of each of the chapters in the book:
Preface & Introduction - Toronto explains how he got involved in this topic and gives a little background on Shaver and Palmer’s life trajectory.
Part I: The Life and Times of Raymond Alfred Palmer
1. The Memory Comet - Rap’s early experiences including his claims of superhuman abilities like an infallible memory (which is shown to be false) and his harrowing childhood injury and convalescence.
2. Education - Rap’s education is mostly the lack of formal education coupled with the school of hard knocks.
3. Trauma - The effects of Rap’s medical issues on his psychology. Plus, Rap starts the first Sci-Fi fanzine: *The Comet*, later titled *Cosmology*. Also, his stint with the Milwaukee Fictioneers with the likes of Robert Bloch and Stanley G. Weinbaum. Later he joins the editorial staff of *Science Fiction Digest*.
4. Spilling the Atoms - Rap from editor of fanzine *SFD* to its changed name, *Fantasy Magazine*. Friends with Forry Ackerman. Rap as writer. Death of Stanley Weinbaum. Rap becomes editor of *Amazing Stories* and *Fantastic Adventures*. Getting Bloch to write his first sci-fi story for *Amazing Stories*.
5. Politics - East Coast SF leftists vs. Midwest “Mom & Apple Pie” SF libertarians. Campbell vs. Palmer or high-brow SF vs. Everyman SF.
6. The Inner Circle - Rap’s inner circle included William L. Hamling, Howard Browne, and Chester Geier. Leroy Yerxa becomes an important writer for Palmer and introduces him to Marjorie Wilson, who Rap marries. Shaver’s letter about Mantong arrives. Browne pitches it in the trash, but Palmer fishes it out and sets in motion the Shaver Mystery.
Part II: Richard Sharpe Shaver
7. Shavertown - Richard Shaver’s ancestors. Both industrious and victims of circumstance, including mental health problems.
8. The Early Years. Dick Shaver’s childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Lots of moving around, both from place to place and job to job.
9. The Wicker School of Fine Art. Shaver takes art classes, does nude modeling, and meets Sophie Gurvitch. Gets associated with communism through Sophie.
10. Through the Looking Glass. Shaver’s brother, Taylor, dies unexpectedly. Shaver starts hearing voices calling him a commie and a hermaphrodite. Shaver is committed to Ypsilanti State Hospital. His daughter Evelyn Ann Shaver is born. Sophie is electrocuted. Evelyn is adopted by Sophie’s parents.
11. Period of Abandonment. Shaver flees to Canada, but is eventually caught.
12. Ionia, 1938-1943. Shaver is committed to the Ionia State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Based on the voices he hears, Shaver developed his knowledge of the Inner Earth. After 5 years, he was released and moved back in with his parents. His dad died shortly after his release. Shaver helped to take care of his aging mom. He got married but didn’t tell his wife he was committed to an asylum. She divorced him. Then he met and married Dorothy “Dottie” Erb. Also since his release, Dick submitted stories to pulp mags eventually getting his letter about the Mantong alphabet published in *Amazing Stories*.
Part III: The Rise and Fall of the Shaver Mystery, 1945-1948
13. Howard Browne. Browne becomes editor of *Mammoth Detective* based on two stories he submitted to Bernard G. Davis. But because *Mammoth Detective* is quarterly, Davis makes Browne assistant editor of *Amazing* and *Fantastic*. Although a Palmer insider, Browne and Rap don’t see eye-to eye.
14. Lemuria, My Lemuria. The start of the Shaver Mystery in *Amazing* and Shaver and Palmer become friends.
15. Conflict. The Shaver Mystery takes off. Letters to *Amazing* flood in.
16. Line in the Sand. Despite the popularity of the Shaver Mystery, active SF fandom mostly rises against Rap and Shaver.
17. Science of the Damned. Debate about the Shaver “Hoax.”
18. Fanfeud From Hell. The beginning of the end of Rap’s editorship at *Amazing*. The new obsession: flying saucers. The debut of *FATE* magazine to focus on flying saucers and Fortean phenomena. Strangely, William B. Ziff meets with FBI agents to discuss weird happenings the entire time the Shaver Mystery was percolating. But he doesn’t blame deros. He thinks it’s Russian agents.
19. Armistice of 1948. Rap offers a truce to fandom and appears to wrap up the Shaver Mystery to placate Ziff. But he was making moves to be independent from Ziff-Davis starting *FATE* magazine and moving the Shaver mystery to the *Shaver Mystery Club*.
Part IV: Diaspora
20. Reconstructing Ray Palmer. Still publishing *FATE*, but Rap also started *Other Worlds Science Stories*.
21. The Unexpected Gafiation of William L. Hamling. Hamling’s connection to Hugh Hefner and the start of his competition to *Playboy Magazine*, *Rogue*.
22. The Stigmata of Raymond A. Palmer. Richard Shaver moves to a farm in central Wisconsin and convinces Rap to move to Amherst, WI. Palmer starts *Mystic* magazine publishing a mix of weird fiction and paranormal nonfiction articles. Later, it becomes *Search* magazine entirely focused on nonfiction. Shaver tries and fails at farming. Shaver discovers “rock books.”
23. Big Trouble in Little Amherst. Rap and Shaver get in trouble since they were listed as directors and president of Hamling’s porn companies to obfuscate inquiries in case of running afoul of obscenity laws. Shaver moves to Arkansas.
24. Artful Obsession. Shaver pursues “rock books.” Big federal obscenity trial against Hamling in Houston in 1966. Shaver is called to testify for the prosecution but it ends up being a vacation for him (no testimony and Hamling was acquitted).
25. Martian Diary. Rap can’t finish his autobiography. Publishes Shaver’s rock book in *The Secret World* but doesn’t give Shaver credit on the cover. Shaver dies in 1975 due to complications of pancreatic cancer.
26. The Inner Circle’s Last Stand: 1975-1977. Hamling and Kemp are convicted on federal obscenity charges for sending a brochure about Kemp’s Illustrated version of Nixon’s *Presidential Report of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography* to Greenleaf’s mailing list. Rap dies in 1977 from a stroke. There’s a good quote from Chester Geier addressing the popularity of the Shaver Mystery excerpted from the *Shavertron*: “The fact seems to be that human beings love mystery in general, including mystery stories, and they love a mystery that seems to have roots in the real world, in real people and events. They seek magic . . . to give charm and a sense of wonder to an otherwise drab and humdrum existence.”
Ray Palmer (Rap) and Richard Shaver seemed to have similar backgrounds filled with significant obstacles and stressors. Both were self-made men, although Shaver achieved less financial success. Shaver seemed to be something of a bohemian, an outsider artist in both writing and art. I’ve only just started reading some of Shaver’s “stories” (in quotes because they were presented as non-fiction in *Amazing Stories*). But from what I’ve read, there is a very unpolished quality to the writing (and this is after major revisions from Rap—many believe Rap should be considered a co-author on most Shaver Mystery stories). I know there is a lot of debate on how the Shaver Mystery should be viewed. For some, Shaver should just be put in the kook category. But his ideas were highly imaginative even if there is a psychological disorder element to them. I do find it ironic that the Shaver Mystery and the UFO/UAP phenomenon, more generally, get such disdain when many, if not most people these days believe in some conspiracy theories (much of it politically oriented, and as psychological research has indicated, present on both the left and the right political orientations). I find the Shaver Mystery and UFO/UAPs much more interesting than any of the political cults that froth at the mouth these days.
I found the divide in sci-fi between the high-brow (represented by Campbell and *Astounding*) and Everyman (represented by Rap and *Amazing Stories*) fascinating. That divide seems to be present in other genres (like Sword and Sorcery). I’m very much in the Everyman, rollicking fun stories that seek to entertain, camp regardless of the genre.
I know that Shaver gets taken advantage of near the end of his life with Palmer publishing *The Secret World* with mostly Shaver’s writing inside, but leaving Shaver’s name off the cover. But at the same time, it seems that Shaver would have never been published if it hadn’t been for Palmer. There seems to be a general consensus that Shaver’s writing was pretty rough. But what is ironic is that Shaver is probably better known today than many of the other sci-fi writers from the era, and his “rock book” art has been displayed in galleries featuring outsider artists.
Here is a synopsis of each of the chapters in the book:
Preface & Introduction - Toronto explains how he got involved in this topic and gives a little background on Shaver and Palmer’s life trajectory.
Part I: The Life and Times of Raymond Alfred Palmer
1. The Memory Comet - Rap’s early experiences including his claims of superhuman abilities like an infallible memory (which is shown to be false) and his harrowing childhood injury and convalescence.
2. Education - Rap’s education is mostly the lack of formal education coupled with the school of hard knocks.
3. Trauma - The effects of Rap’s medical issues on his psychology. Plus, Rap starts the first Sci-Fi fanzine: *The Comet*, later titled *Cosmology*. Also, his stint with the Milwaukee Fictioneers with the likes of Robert Bloch and Stanley G. Weinbaum. Later he joins the editorial staff of *Science Fiction Digest*.
4. Spilling the Atoms - Rap from editor of fanzine *SFD* to its changed name, *Fantasy Magazine*. Friends with Forry Ackerman. Rap as writer. Death of Stanley Weinbaum. Rap becomes editor of *Amazing Stories* and *Fantastic Adventures*. Getting Bloch to write his first sci-fi story for *Amazing Stories*.
5. Politics - East Coast SF leftists vs. Midwest “Mom & Apple Pie” SF libertarians. Campbell vs. Palmer or high-brow SF vs. Everyman SF.
6. The Inner Circle - Rap’s inner circle included William L. Hamling, Howard Browne, and Chester Geier. Leroy Yerxa becomes an important writer for Palmer and introduces him to Marjorie Wilson, who Rap marries. Shaver’s letter about Mantong arrives. Browne pitches it in the trash, but Palmer fishes it out and sets in motion the Shaver Mystery.
Part II: Richard Sharpe Shaver
7. Shavertown - Richard Shaver’s ancestors. Both industrious and victims of circumstance, including mental health problems.
8. The Early Years. Dick Shaver’s childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Lots of moving around, both from place to place and job to job.
9. The Wicker School of Fine Art. Shaver takes art classes, does nude modeling, and meets Sophie Gurvitch. Gets associated with communism through Sophie.
10. Through the Looking Glass. Shaver’s brother, Taylor, dies unexpectedly. Shaver starts hearing voices calling him a commie and a hermaphrodite. Shaver is committed to Ypsilanti State Hospital. His daughter Evelyn Ann Shaver is born. Sophie is electrocuted. Evelyn is adopted by Sophie’s parents.
11. Period of Abandonment. Shaver flees to Canada, but is eventually caught.
12. Ionia, 1938-1943. Shaver is committed to the Ionia State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Based on the voices he hears, Shaver developed his knowledge of the Inner Earth. After 5 years, he was released and moved back in with his parents. His dad died shortly after his release. Shaver helped to take care of his aging mom. He got married but didn’t tell his wife he was committed to an asylum. She divorced him. Then he met and married Dorothy “Dottie” Erb. Also since his release, Dick submitted stories to pulp mags eventually getting his letter about the Mantong alphabet published in *Amazing Stories*.
Part III: The Rise and Fall of the Shaver Mystery, 1945-1948
13. Howard Browne. Browne becomes editor of *Mammoth Detective* based on two stories he submitted to Bernard G. Davis. But because *Mammoth Detective* is quarterly, Davis makes Browne assistant editor of *Amazing* and *Fantastic*. Although a Palmer insider, Browne and Rap don’t see eye-to eye.
14. Lemuria, My Lemuria. The start of the Shaver Mystery in *Amazing* and Shaver and Palmer become friends.
15. Conflict. The Shaver Mystery takes off. Letters to *Amazing* flood in.
16. Line in the Sand. Despite the popularity of the Shaver Mystery, active SF fandom mostly rises against Rap and Shaver.
17. Science of the Damned. Debate about the Shaver “Hoax.”
18. Fanfeud From Hell. The beginning of the end of Rap’s editorship at *Amazing*. The new obsession: flying saucers. The debut of *FATE* magazine to focus on flying saucers and Fortean phenomena. Strangely, William B. Ziff meets with FBI agents to discuss weird happenings the entire time the Shaver Mystery was percolating. But he doesn’t blame deros. He thinks it’s Russian agents.
19. Armistice of 1948. Rap offers a truce to fandom and appears to wrap up the Shaver Mystery to placate Ziff. But he was making moves to be independent from Ziff-Davis starting *FATE* magazine and moving the Shaver mystery to the *Shaver Mystery Club*.
Part IV: Diaspora
20. Reconstructing Ray Palmer. Still publishing *FATE*, but Rap also started *Other Worlds Science Stories*.
21. The Unexpected Gafiation of William L. Hamling. Hamling’s connection to Hugh Hefner and the start of his competition to *Playboy Magazine*, *Rogue*.
22. The Stigmata of Raymond A. Palmer. Richard Shaver moves to a farm in central Wisconsin and convinces Rap to move to Amherst, WI. Palmer starts *Mystic* magazine publishing a mix of weird fiction and paranormal nonfiction articles. Later, it becomes *Search* magazine entirely focused on nonfiction. Shaver tries and fails at farming. Shaver discovers “rock books.”
23. Big Trouble in Little Amherst. Rap and Shaver get in trouble since they were listed as directors and president of Hamling’s porn companies to obfuscate inquiries in case of running afoul of obscenity laws. Shaver moves to Arkansas.
24. Artful Obsession. Shaver pursues “rock books.” Big federal obscenity trial against Hamling in Houston in 1966. Shaver is called to testify for the prosecution but it ends up being a vacation for him (no testimony and Hamling was acquitted).
25. Martian Diary. Rap can’t finish his autobiography. Publishes Shaver’s rock book in *The Secret World* but doesn’t give Shaver credit on the cover. Shaver dies in 1975 due to complications of pancreatic cancer.
26. The Inner Circle’s Last Stand: 1975-1977. Hamling and Kemp are convicted on federal obscenity charges for sending a brochure about Kemp’s Illustrated version of Nixon’s *Presidential Report of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography* to Greenleaf’s mailing list. Rap dies in 1977 from a stroke. There’s a good quote from Chester Geier addressing the popularity of the Shaver Mystery excerpted from the *Shavertron*: “The fact seems to be that human beings love mystery in general, including mystery stories, and they love a mystery that seems to have roots in the real world, in real people and events. They seek magic . . . to give charm and a sense of wonder to an otherwise drab and humdrum existence.”
June 19, 2013
Richard Toronto is tuned in to what makes the “Shaver Mystery” so enthralling. It’s not the “mystery” itself; it’s the people behind it. What a movie War Over Lemuria would make! Imagine the figment- laced A Beautiful Mind (2001), in which Russell Crow portrayed the brilliant but schizophrenic mathematician, John Nash. Add some inner-circle editorial and publishing industry intrigue reminiscent of The Last Days of the New Yorker by Gigi Mahon or George Clooney’s biopic on Edward R. Murrow, Good Night and Good Luck. Now project this mosaic of media messaging through a prism of Ed Wood enthusiasm in the face of austerity, because this is not The New Yorker or CBS news – this is the story of a weird, almost forgotten episode in the history of pulp magazines, science fiction fans, public and private controversy, and, some would say, betrayal.
As early as 1797, when Bedlam patient James Tilly Matthews described the mental torments inflicted on him by the so-called “Air Loom,” doctors have studied victims of paranoid delusions, but post-World War II advances in science and communication galvanized the lunatic fringe with the widespread awareness of atomic energy, orbiting satellites, New Age harmonic convergence, and conspiracy theories. It was the perfect time for Shaver’s pseudoscience and Palmer’s mind-over-matter mysticism to collide.
Richard Toronto is the first to point out that Palmer embellished his life story almost compulsively; and that Shaver sometimes described things that probably weren’t there at all, even if he thought they were. It doesn’t matter. What makes War Over Lemuria so fun to read are the complex personalities, the secretly interconnected publishing ventures, run-ins with the FBI, the boisterous controversy among science fiction fans, and, finally, the fact that it happened at all.
Toronto has researched the Palmer/Shaver collaboration for years. He corresponded with Richard Shaver himself, and has interviewed family members, friends, coworkers, and associates of both Shaver and Palmer. War Over Lemuria is everything I had hoped for and more.
As early as 1797, when Bedlam patient James Tilly Matthews described the mental torments inflicted on him by the so-called “Air Loom,” doctors have studied victims of paranoid delusions, but post-World War II advances in science and communication galvanized the lunatic fringe with the widespread awareness of atomic energy, orbiting satellites, New Age harmonic convergence, and conspiracy theories. It was the perfect time for Shaver’s pseudoscience and Palmer’s mind-over-matter mysticism to collide.
Richard Toronto is the first to point out that Palmer embellished his life story almost compulsively; and that Shaver sometimes described things that probably weren’t there at all, even if he thought they were. It doesn’t matter. What makes War Over Lemuria so fun to read are the complex personalities, the secretly interconnected publishing ventures, run-ins with the FBI, the boisterous controversy among science fiction fans, and, finally, the fact that it happened at all.
Toronto has researched the Palmer/Shaver collaboration for years. He corresponded with Richard Shaver himself, and has interviewed family members, friends, coworkers, and associates of both Shaver and Palmer. War Over Lemuria is everything I had hoped for and more.
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June 18, 2026War over Lemuria: Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer and the Strangest Chapter of 1940s Science Fiction by Richard Toronto offers a detailed exploration of one of the most unusual and controversial episodes in early science fiction history, focusing on the cultural phenomenon known as the Shaver Mystery.
One of the most compelling aspects of the book is its historical reconstruction of the relationship between Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer, and how their collaboration shaped a wave of speculative fiction that blurred the line between storytelling, belief, and public controversy. The narrative captures how the Shaver Mystery evolved from magazine fiction into a widespread cultural debate.
The book also provides strong context around the reception of the Shaver stories within the science fiction community, highlighting the tension between mainstream fandom and those who embraced or criticized the concept of hidden subterranean civilizations. This tension helps illustrate how early science fiction communities defined boundaries between entertainment, ideology, and perceived reality.
A particularly engaging element is the examination of Ray Palmer’s editorial influence and his role in amplifying unconventional narratives through Amazing Stories. The book carefully traces how editorial decisions contributed to both the popularity and the backlash surrounding Shaverism.
Beyond the controversy itself, the work serves as a broader reflection on fandom, belief systems, and the evolution of science fiction as a cultural force during the 1940s. It situates the Shaver Mystery within a larger historical and literary context, offering insight into how fringe ideas can shape genre history.
For readers interested in science fiction history, genre controversies, and the intersection of fandom and belief, War over Lemuria provides a thorough and engaging historical account.
One of the most compelling aspects of the book is its historical reconstruction of the relationship between Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer, and how their collaboration shaped a wave of speculative fiction that blurred the line between storytelling, belief, and public controversy. The narrative captures how the Shaver Mystery evolved from magazine fiction into a widespread cultural debate.
The book also provides strong context around the reception of the Shaver stories within the science fiction community, highlighting the tension between mainstream fandom and those who embraced or criticized the concept of hidden subterranean civilizations. This tension helps illustrate how early science fiction communities defined boundaries between entertainment, ideology, and perceived reality.
A particularly engaging element is the examination of Ray Palmer’s editorial influence and his role in amplifying unconventional narratives through Amazing Stories. The book carefully traces how editorial decisions contributed to both the popularity and the backlash surrounding Shaverism.
Beyond the controversy itself, the work serves as a broader reflection on fandom, belief systems, and the evolution of science fiction as a cultural force during the 1940s. It situates the Shaver Mystery within a larger historical and literary context, offering insight into how fringe ideas can shape genre history.
For readers interested in science fiction history, genre controversies, and the intersection of fandom and belief, War over Lemuria provides a thorough and engaging historical account.
October 15, 2017
To paraphrase Mark Twain, life is stranger than fiction - and sometimes, it's even stranger than science-fiction.
Which brings us to the Shaver Mystery, which first appeared under the tagline 'The Most Sensational True Story Ever Told' in the June 1947 issue of the famous science-fiction magazine 'Amazing Stories'.
Yes, despite making its initial appearance in a fiction magazine, the Shaver Mystery was fact - or so it was claimed by the two men who brought it to the world's attention: Richard Shaver, who wrote to 'Amazing Stories' about his sinister and strange experiences; and Ray Palmer, the editor of 'Amazing Stories' who edited Shaver's writings and published it as a sensational and hugely controversial series that would divide the science-fiction community for years afterwards.
So what was the Shaver Mystery? I'm not going to try and describe it briefly in a short review like this. Instead, if you're intrigued, I urge you to read the subject of this review - Richard Toronto's engrossing (and at times moving) account, 'War Over Lemuria'.
Not only does 'War Over Lemuria' provide a highly-readable history of the Shaver Mystery, it also serves as a dual biography of the (pun unintended) amazing lives of Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer - two men who suffered greatly throughout their time on Earth, but separately and together overcame some of the crap that life threw at them (emphasis on the word "some", though).
The Shaver Mystery was a very questionable vehicle used for various reasons by Shaver and Palmer (to say the very least) - but whether you find yourself believing in any of it or not, the story of its impact upon the world and the men behind it is certainly worth reading about in 'War Over Lemuria'.
Which brings us to the Shaver Mystery, which first appeared under the tagline 'The Most Sensational True Story Ever Told' in the June 1947 issue of the famous science-fiction magazine 'Amazing Stories'.
Yes, despite making its initial appearance in a fiction magazine, the Shaver Mystery was fact - or so it was claimed by the two men who brought it to the world's attention: Richard Shaver, who wrote to 'Amazing Stories' about his sinister and strange experiences; and Ray Palmer, the editor of 'Amazing Stories' who edited Shaver's writings and published it as a sensational and hugely controversial series that would divide the science-fiction community for years afterwards.
So what was the Shaver Mystery? I'm not going to try and describe it briefly in a short review like this. Instead, if you're intrigued, I urge you to read the subject of this review - Richard Toronto's engrossing (and at times moving) account, 'War Over Lemuria'.
Not only does 'War Over Lemuria' provide a highly-readable history of the Shaver Mystery, it also serves as a dual biography of the (pun unintended) amazing lives of Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer - two men who suffered greatly throughout their time on Earth, but separately and together overcame some of the crap that life threw at them (emphasis on the word "some", though).
The Shaver Mystery was a very questionable vehicle used for various reasons by Shaver and Palmer (to say the very least) - but whether you find yourself believing in any of it or not, the story of its impact upon the world and the men behind it is certainly worth reading about in 'War Over Lemuria'.
November 13, 2023
Dense, detailed and wide-ranging history of one of sci-fi's most controversial episodes and one of its most challenging eras, when pulps were on the wane as a publishing model. A huge cast of characters are involved, even if tangentially and the interesting links between the pulps and the adult magazine industry explored.I would have given 4 stars if I was more of a sci-fi history enthusiast. I certainly found the interview with the author on the Monster talk podcast riveting enough to get the book
January 2, 2019
Pretty good for this kind of book but a bit hard to read as it jumped around. It was difficult to relate to the protagonists, one of whom was crazy and the other a liar/con man. As a comic book fan it was interesting to read about Julius Schwartz, Otto Binder and others in their pre-comics days even if the author seemed to have no idea who they were. Also, it seems obvious that the Shaver Mystery laid the groundwork for Scientology which is something that should have been addressed.
August 2, 2017
It was not long ago that I first learned about the Shaver Mystery. I made some assumptions when I first heard it. Richard anticipated what I thought, no doubt addressing them to countless others and answered them. I could not think of a more appropriate author for this subject.
September 1, 2025
Garbaugust 2025. Fills the "Trashy Non-fiction" spot on the bingo card.
August 10, 2013
The saga of Ray Palmer, Richard Shaver and "the Shaver Mystery" has often been told in simplistic terms that emphasize the outlandish elements of their claims and the colorful public controversies that surrounded them. Richard Toronto's accomplishment is to present Shaver and Palmer as complex human beings. He focuses on their relationships: with each other, with their families, with Palmer's "inner circle" of writers, editors and publishers, and, to a lesser extent, with the community of science fiction fandom. Most published descriptions of Shaver and Palmer's lives are built on oft-repeated anecdotes, many of which come from unreliable sources: Shaver and Palmer themselves, and fans who often failed to distinguish between fact and speculation. Toronto attempts to sort the verifiable from the unsubstantiated, and in the process uncovers a great deal of previously little-known information: details of Shaver’s incarceration in a series of mental hospitals in the 1930s; details of Palmer’s youth, including an early marriage that he hid from his later family; an account of the pornography-related scandal that led to Shaver’s move to Arkansas in the 1960s. Toronto’s multi-decade involvement with this material (he started the fanzine Shavertron in 1979) is evident in the depth of primary sources that he has tapped for this book: he met or corresponded with Shaver’s wife Dottie, Palmer’s close professional associates William Hamling and Chester Geire, Palmer’s wife and children, and others, including Richard Shaver himself.
I have to dock the book one star for deficiencies in editing and presentation, particularly with regard to the Kindle edition. It seems clear that the book was cut down from a much longer draft, and the resulting edit is sometimes choppy, repetitive or a bit confusing when things are discussed before they are properly introduced. (This becomes less of an issue as the book proceeds, though—it really hits its stride with the second section, an outstanding telling of the Shaver Mystery days in the late 1940s.)
Unnecessary confusion was added by the publisher’s poorly prepared Kindle edition. The book often includes full-paragraph quotes from various sources. In the Kindle version, these are simply laid in as regular text: no quotation marks, italics, indenting, or anything else to tell the reader when we’re reading somebody else’s voice. One can usually figure this out easily enough from the context, but there’s no reason for making the reader’s task more difficult (from what I can see online, the printed edition does not have this problem). Another Kindle shortcoming is the lack of an index, which for the e-book has been reduced to a far less useful “list of names and terms” with no links to the main text.
The book assumes that the reader finds Shaver and Palmer worthy subjects, so it’s probably best suited for someone that already knows a bit about the Shaver Mystery or mid-century SF fandom. For such a reader, the book is highly recommendable, and is likely to stand as the authoritative biography of Palmer and Shaver for years to come.
I have to dock the book one star for deficiencies in editing and presentation, particularly with regard to the Kindle edition. It seems clear that the book was cut down from a much longer draft, and the resulting edit is sometimes choppy, repetitive or a bit confusing when things are discussed before they are properly introduced. (This becomes less of an issue as the book proceeds, though—it really hits its stride with the second section, an outstanding telling of the Shaver Mystery days in the late 1940s.)
Unnecessary confusion was added by the publisher’s poorly prepared Kindle edition. The book often includes full-paragraph quotes from various sources. In the Kindle version, these are simply laid in as regular text: no quotation marks, italics, indenting, or anything else to tell the reader when we’re reading somebody else’s voice. One can usually figure this out easily enough from the context, but there’s no reason for making the reader’s task more difficult (from what I can see online, the printed edition does not have this problem). Another Kindle shortcoming is the lack of an index, which for the e-book has been reduced to a far less useful “list of names and terms” with no links to the main text.
The book assumes that the reader finds Shaver and Palmer worthy subjects, so it’s probably best suited for someone that already knows a bit about the Shaver Mystery or mid-century SF fandom. For such a reader, the book is highly recommendable, and is likely to stand as the authoritative biography of Palmer and Shaver for years to come.
May 14, 2013
I'm not sure who the audience for this book is. I suppose someone like me--who knows a little about the Shaver Mystery, but not all the details. Because this book has details. Lots of them. Far too many for somebody coming into the story cold. Toronto clearly did a ton of research, especially interviews, to ferret out information on the two main protagonists--Shaver and Palmer--as well as their compatriots.
The presentation, though, leaves much to be desired. The story goes back and forth through time in unpredictable ways. It is often repetitive. Also, it is often repetitive and repeats itself. Probably could have been a third shorter.
Also, Toronto goes for straight narrative when he needed something else. I understand that there are times to write against the grain of a subject--what made Thomas Keneally's _Schindler's List_ so powerful was the contrast of its calm tone and the horrors it documented. But in this case, the writing needed to reflect Shaver and Palmer.
Shaver and Palmer are both perfect examples of unreliable narrators. Heck, Shaver was in a mental institution for years; and Palmer famously said he could remember events that occurred while he was in the womb. And both accepted the existence of an underground race of beings. It is simply impossible, then, to use their later remembrances to reconstruct their childhood's, as Toronto does here. You have to start with both already men, then show how they built the identities that they did.
Ultimately, Toronto's credulity toward his subjects left me not trusting him.
I would like to give the book more stars because of all the work that he clearly did. And I'll hang on to this book for a while as a reference. But ultimately, the book's structure keeps it from being as good as it could have been.
The presentation, though, leaves much to be desired. The story goes back and forth through time in unpredictable ways. It is often repetitive. Also, it is often repetitive and repeats itself. Probably could have been a third shorter.
Also, Toronto goes for straight narrative when he needed something else. I understand that there are times to write against the grain of a subject--what made Thomas Keneally's _Schindler's List_ so powerful was the contrast of its calm tone and the horrors it documented. But in this case, the writing needed to reflect Shaver and Palmer.
Shaver and Palmer are both perfect examples of unreliable narrators. Heck, Shaver was in a mental institution for years; and Palmer famously said he could remember events that occurred while he was in the womb. And both accepted the existence of an underground race of beings. It is simply impossible, then, to use their later remembrances to reconstruct their childhood's, as Toronto does here. You have to start with both already men, then show how they built the identities that they did.
Ultimately, Toronto's credulity toward his subjects left me not trusting him.
I would like to give the book more stars because of all the work that he clearly did. And I'll hang on to this book for a while as a reference. But ultimately, the book's structure keeps it from being as good as it could have been.
September 17, 2014
I'm glad Richard Toronto brought to light this story which deserves more attention. He's coy about drawing conclusions, but the facts are clear: author Richard Shaver and editor Ray Palmer perpetrated a long-running hoax that gave the pulp side of science fiction a bad (or rather, worse) name.
Shaver did it because he was mentally ill; Palmer did it for more complex reasons, and the story of his suffering and struggle is the real revelation of this book. Unfortunately, what is good in this book is sprinkled about chaotically among pages and pages of irrelevance and repetition. The book really needed a strong editorial hand to impose structure on it.
I'm tempted to advise you to skip the first 100 pages--for example, no reader needs to know about the French aristocrat after whom the Pennsylvanian county is named where Richard Shaver's ancestors lived--but then you would miss important information from Ray Palmer's childhood, how an accident almost killed him, made him a hunchback, and gave him the character of a tenacious survivor and serial fabulist.
In the end, I was forced to skim and skip, so honestly, I cannot claim to have read this whole book. My sampling (of more than half) forces me to conclude reluctantly that this book is not worth reading. The subject, however, is something every sci-fi fan ought to know. So, what to do? I resolve this dilemma with a rating of 2 stars and a sense of deep frustration.
Shaver did it because he was mentally ill; Palmer did it for more complex reasons, and the story of his suffering and struggle is the real revelation of this book. Unfortunately, what is good in this book is sprinkled about chaotically among pages and pages of irrelevance and repetition. The book really needed a strong editorial hand to impose structure on it.
I'm tempted to advise you to skip the first 100 pages--for example, no reader needs to know about the French aristocrat after whom the Pennsylvanian county is named where Richard Shaver's ancestors lived--but then you would miss important information from Ray Palmer's childhood, how an accident almost killed him, made him a hunchback, and gave him the character of a tenacious survivor and serial fabulist.
In the end, I was forced to skim and skip, so honestly, I cannot claim to have read this whole book. My sampling (of more than half) forces me to conclude reluctantly that this book is not worth reading. The subject, however, is something every sci-fi fan ought to know. So, what to do? I resolve this dilemma with a rating of 2 stars and a sense of deep frustration.
June 15, 2013
RIchard Toronto is the leading authority on Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer. His personal friendship with Shaver led him to publish the zine Shavertron back in the '80s, which became a cult hit. Finally, Toronto put all his arcane knowledge about this part of sci fi history into a solid book, full of insights and anecdotes. He also managed to get interviews from some rather reclusive figures from this era. Toronto's dry wit keeps the book moving forward. It includes an extensive biography. Those who love science fiction will enjoy learning about the very beginnings of the genre, as will anyone with an interest in American history or American pop culture.
July 28, 2013
This book is a great read for anyone interested in the early history of science fiction or of the esoteric in America. The book is a well researched and well documented study of a nearly forgotten corner of genre history.
In brief the book is a history of Richard Shaver, the sometime science fiction author and artist, and his claims that evil creatures beneath the earth were manipulating history using ray technology. Equal time is given to "Rap" the editor who served as amanuensis and chronicler to Shaver.
That said the book's sympathies are clearly with Shaver and at times a more even handed treatment would have been preferred at times.
In brief the book is a history of Richard Shaver, the sometime science fiction author and artist, and his claims that evil creatures beneath the earth were manipulating history using ray technology. Equal time is given to "Rap" the editor who served as amanuensis and chronicler to Shaver.
That said the book's sympathies are clearly with Shaver and at times a more even handed treatment would have been preferred at times.
November 10, 2013
Thanks Richard. Great job as always. Buy this book folks!
March 21, 2014
Excellent book. Well interesting and very thoroughly researched story about Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer.
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